Navy helicopter crew still hospitalized after 'hard landing'

North Island aircraft had 'in-flight emergency'

A Navy MH-60R helicopter crash landed at North Island Naval Air Station late Wednesday night, putting all four crew members in the hospital.

The helicopter, assigned to North Island's HSM-75 Wolfpack squadron, was significantly damaged in what the Navy described as a “hard landing” on the tarmac. The aircraft remained on the landing area, sitting upright, on Thursday.

Despite early reports, no buildings were involved in the 11 p.m. incident as the helicopter was returning from a routine training mission, said Lt. Aaron Kakiel, spokesman for the Naval Air Forces command.

Two of the crew were taken to UCSD Medical Center; the other two were taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital. They remained there Thursday afternoon in stable condition and were not expected to be released that day.

Despite their injuries, which the Navy declined to describe, Kakiel said that they were reported to be joking and in good spirits.

The crash is being investigated as a Class A mishap. That's what the Navy calls it when an aircraft is destroyed or will cost more than $2 million to repair, or when injuries involved will cause a permanent total disability.

Kakiel said the helicopter crew experienced an “in-flight emergency,” but he didn't have further details. An investigation overseen by the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, Va., will probably take months to become public.

This is the second “hard landing” for a Navy or Marine Corps helicopter since October 2011, according to safety center statistics. The other was a Marine Corps CH-46 aircraft that rolled and caught fire during a landing in the Philippines.

In the same time period, there were at least six other Navy or Marine Corps crashes involving helicopters or the MV-22 Osprey.